Methods and devices for facilitating access terminal registration with a registration server

ABSTRACT

Access terminals are adapted to communicate with registration servers to enable a registration server to perform timer-based registrations on behalf of an access terminal. The access terminal can cease performing such timer-based registrations as long as the registration server performs the registrations, and may power down until event data is available for transmission or reception. When a registration server performs timer-based registrations on behalf of an access terminal, the registration server can periodically communicate with a network entity to conduct the timer-based registrations for the access terminal. The network entity can receive a timer-based registration message from a registrations server for registering an access terminal. In response to such a message, the network entity can register the access terminal. Sensors and controllers may be used with some embodiments to collect and analyze data and for potentially taking action. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also claimed and described.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION & PRIORITY CLAIM

The present Application for Patent claims priority to ProvisionalApplication No. 61/554,835 entitled “METHODS AND DEVICES FORFACILITATING ACCESS TERMINAL REGISTRATION USING A REGISTRATION SERVER,”filed Nov. 2, 2011, and assigned to the assignee hereof, herebyexpressly incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth belowand for all applicable purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to wirelesscommunication, and more specifically, to methods and devices forfacilitating access terminal registration with a registration server.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be accessed byvarious types of devices adapted to facilitate wireless communications,where multiple devices share the available system resources (e.g., time,frequency, and power). Examples of such wireless communications systemsinclude code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-divisionmultiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access(FDMA) systems and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA)systems.

A variety of devices are adapted to utilize such wireless communicationssystems. Such devices may be generally referred to as access terminals.Some access terminals may be stationary, or at least substantiallystationary, such as access terminals adapted for machine-to-machine(M2M) communications (also sometimes referred to as machine-typecommunication or MTC). An M2M adapted access terminal may include anaccess terminal that is adapted to operate at least substantiallywithout user interaction. Such M2M adapted access terminals may operateon a limited power source, such as a battery. Accordingly, features maybe desirable to conserve power and improve the life of such powersources.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

Various examples and implementations of the present disclosurefacilitate access terminal registrations with a registration serverperforming the registrations on behalf of one or more access terminals.According to at least one aspect of the present disclosure, accessterminals are provided, which are adapted to employ a registrationserver for performing registrations on behalf of the access terminal.One or more examples of such access terminals may include acommunications interface and a storage medium coupled with a processingcircuit. The processing circuit may be adapted to communicate with aregistration server via the communications interface to enable theregistration server to perform timer-based registrations on behalf ofthe access terminal using an identity (ID) associated with the accessterminal. The processing circuit may stop performing timer-basedregistrations while the registration server performs the timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal, and may power down untilevent data is available for transmission or reception.

Further aspects provide methods operational on an access terminalsand/or access terminals including means to perform such methods. One ormore examples of such methods may include communicating with aregistration server to enable the registration server to performtimer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal using theaccess terminal's ID. Conducting timer-based registrations is stoppedwhile the registration server is performing the timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal. The access terminal maypower down until event data is available for transmission or reception.

Still further aspects include processor-readable mediums comprisinginstructions operational on an access terminal. According to one or moreexamples, such instructions may cause a processor to communicate with aregistration server to enable the registration server to performtimer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal using anidentity (ID) associated with the access terminal. The instructions mayfurther cause the processor to cease conducting timer-basedregistrations while the registration server performs the timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal. The instructions mayalso cause the processor to power down until event data is available fortransmission or reception.

One or more additional aspects of the present disclosure provideregistration servers adapted to perform timer-based registrations onbehalf of one or more access terminals. According to at least oneexample, a registration server may include a communications interfaceand a storage medium coupled with a processing circuit. The processingcircuit may be adapted to communicate with an access terminal via thecommunications interface to enable the registration server to performtimer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal. Theprocessing circuit may further be adapted to periodically communicatewith a network entity to conduct the timer-based registrations for theaccess terminal using an identity (ID) associated with the accessterminal

Additional aspects provide methods operational on a registration serverand/or registration servers including means to perform such methods.According to at least one example, such a method may includecommunicating with an access terminal to enable the registration serverto perform timer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal.Communications with a network entity may be periodically employed toconduct the timer-based registrations for the access terminal using anidentity (ID) associated with the access terminal.

Still further aspects include processor-readable mediums comprisinginstructions operational on a registration server. According to one ormore examples, such instructions may cause a processor to communicatewith an access terminal to enable the registration server to performtimer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal. Theinstructions may further cause the processor to periodically communicatewith a network entity to conduct the timer-based registrations for theaccess terminal using an identity (ID) associated with the accessterminal

At least one additional aspect of the present disclosure providesnetwork entities adapted to perform timer-based registrations for one ormore access terminals in response to communications from a registrationserver. In one or more examples, a network entity may include acommunications interface and a storage medium coupled with a processingcircuit. The processing circuit may be adapted to receive a timer-basedregistration message from a registration server, where the timer-basedregistration message is adapted for registering an access terminal. Theprocessing circuit may further be adapted to register the accessterminal based on the timer-based registration message received from theregistration server.

Further aspects provide methods operational on a network entity and/ornetwork entities including means to perform such methods. According toat least one example, such methods may include receiving a timer-basedregistration message from a registration server, where the timer-basedregistration message is adapted for registering an access terminal. Theaccess terminal may be registered based on the timer-based registrationmessage received from the registration server.

Additional aspects include processor-readable mediums comprisinginstructions operational on a network entity. According to one or moreexamples, such instructions may cause a processor to receive atimer-based registration message from a registration server, where thetimer-based registration message is adapted for registering an accessterminal, and register the access terminal based on the receivedtimer-based registration message.

Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures of the present invention may be discussed relative to certainembodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present inventioncan include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein.In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various embodiments of the inventiondiscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may bediscussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should beunderstood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wirelesscommunications system according to some embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating select components of the wirelesscommunications system depicted in FIG. 1, according to at least oneexample embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of facilitatingtimer-based registrations with a registration server acting on behalf ofan access terminal according to some embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating select components of a processingsystem according to at least one example of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating select components of a processingsystem implemented as an access terminal according to at least oneexample of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on an accessterminal according to at least one example of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating select components of a processingsystem implemented as a registration server according to at least oneexample of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on aregistration server according to at least one example of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating select components of a processingsystem implemented as a network entity according to at least one exampleof the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on a networkentity according to at least one example of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description set forth below in connection with the appended drawingsis intended as a description of various configurations and is notintended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts andfeatures described herein may be practiced. The following descriptionincludes specific details for the purpose of providing a thoroughunderstanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some instances, well known circuits, structures,techniques and components are shown in block diagram form in order toavoid obscuring the described concepts and features.

The word “exemplary” may be used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any implementation or embodiment describedherein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other embodiments or implementations. Likewise, theterm “embodiments” does not require that all embodiments include thediscussed feature, advantage or mode of operation. The terms “basestation” and “access terminal” as used herein are meant to beinterpreted broadly. For example, a “base station” may refer to a devicethat facilitates wireless connectivity (for one or more accessterminals) to a communication or data network. Such “base stations” mayalso be referred to by those skilled in the art as an access point, abase transceiver stations (BTS), a radio base station, a radiotransceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), anextended service set (ESS), a Node B, a femto cell, a pico cell, accesspoint, or some other suitable terminology.

Furthermore, an “access terminal” refers generally to one or moredevices that communicate with one or more other devices through wirelesssignals. Such access terminals may also be referred to by those skilledin the art as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a subscriberstation, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remoteunit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communicationsdevice, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal(AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, ahandset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or someother suitable terminology. Access terminals may include mobileterminals and/or at least substantially fixed terminals. Examples ofaccess terminals include mobile phones, pagers, wireless modems,personal digital assistants, personal information managers (PIMs),personal media players, palmtop computers, laptop computers, tabletcomputers, televisions, appliances, e-readers, digital video recorders(DVRs), machine-to-machine (M2M) enabled devices, and/or othercommunication/computing devices which communicate, at least partially,through a wireless or cellular network.

Certain aspects of the disclosure are described below for CDMA and 3rdGeneration Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) 1× protocols and systems, andrelated terminology may be found in much of the following description.However, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that one ormore aspects of the present disclosure may be employed and included inone or more other wireless communication protocols and systems.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wirelesscommunications system 100. The system 100 includes base stations 102adapted to communicate wirelessly with one or more access terminals 104.The system 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveformsignals of different frequencies). Multi-carrier transmitters cantransmit modulated signals simultaneously on the multiple carriers. Eachmodulated signal may be a CDMA signal, a TDMA signal, an OFDMA signal, aSingle Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc.Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carrycontrol information (e.g., pilot signals), overhead information, data,etc.

The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the accessterminals 104 via a base station antenna. The base stations 102 areconfigured to communicate with the access terminals 104 under thecontrol of a base station controller (see FIG. 2) via multiple carriers.Each of the base station 102 sites can provide communication coveragefor a respective geographic area. The coverage area 110 for each basestation 102 here is identified as cells 110-a, 110-b, or 110-c. Thecoverage area 110 for a base station 102 may be divided into sectors(not shown, but making up only a portion of the coverage area). Thesystem 100 may include base stations 102 of different types (e.g.,macro, micro, and/or pico base stations).

The access terminals 104 may be dispersed throughout the coverage areas110. Each access terminal 104 may communicate with one or more basestation 102. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating select components ofthe wireless communication system 100 according to at least one example.As illustrated, the base stations 102 are included as at least a part ofa radio access network (RAN) 202. The radio access network (RAN) 202 isgenerally adapted to manage traffic and signaling between one or moreaccess terminals 104 and one or more other network entities, such asnetwork entities included in a core network 204. The radio accessnetwork 202 may also be referred to by those skill in the art as a basestation subsystem (BSS), an access network, a UMTS Terrestrial RadioAccess Network (UTRAN), etc.

In addition to one or more base stations 102, the radio access network202 can include a base station controller (BSC) 206, which may also bereferred to by those of skill in the art as a radio network controller(RNC). The base station controller 206 is generally responsible for theestablishment, release, and maintenance of wireless connections withinone or more coverage areas associated with the one or more base stations102 which are connected to the base station controller 206. The basestation controller 206 can be communicatively coupled to one or morenodes or entities of the core network 204.

The core network 204 is a portion of the wireless communications system100 that provides various services to access terminals 104 that areconnected via the radio access network 202. The core network 204 mayinclude a circuit-switched (CS) domain and a packet-switched (PS)domain. Some examples of circuit-switched entities include a mobileswitching center (MSC) and visitor location register (VLR), identifiedas MSC/VLR 208, as well as a Gateway MSC (GMSC) 210. Some examples ofpacket-switched elements include a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 212and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 214. Other network entities maybe included, such as a EIR, HLR, VLR and AuC, some or all of which maybe shared by both the circuit-switched and packet-switched domains. Anaccess terminal 104 can obtain access to a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) 216 via the circuit-switched domain, and to an IP network218 via the packet-switched domain.

As an access terminal 104 operates within the wireless communicationssystem 100, the access terminal 104 will perform various registrationswith the system 100. For instance, when an access terminal 104 initiallypowers on and connects to the system 100, a power-up registration may beperformed. After an access terminal 104 is initially connected to thesystem 100, and has completed authentication procedures, the accessterminal 104 may perform periodic timer-based registrations with thesystem 100. Timer-based registrations, which are different from power-upregistrations and authentication procedures, are typically conducted bysending wireless transmissions from the access terminal 104 via theradio access network 202 to the MSC/VLR 208 to indicate to the MSC/VLR208 that the access terminal 104 is still present within the networkassociated with the MSC/VLR 208.

Timer-base registrations are often performed during a registrationperiod indicated by the system 100. For instance, a registration periodmay be broadcast via the base station 102, during which time each accessterminal 104 within the coverage area for the particular base station102 can register with the network. If an access terminal 104 fails toregister with the network according to the periodic schedule, thenetwork will drop the access terminal 104 from its database and thenetwork will no longer consider the access terminal 104 to be activelylocated within the network. When an access terminal 104 is not active onthe wireless network (e.g., no traffic channel setup, or other forms ofregistration), the idle access terminal 104 performs registration eachregistration period. Typically, the registration period can be arelatively short interval (e.g., between 15 minutes and 1 hour) in orderfor the system 100 to track the locations of the various accessterminals 104 and avoid page failures.

In some instances, one or more of the access terminals 104 may bestationary or substantially stationary such that timer-basedregistrations for tracking locations of these access terminals 104 serveless of a purpose, since the location for transmitting pages rarely ifever changes. One example of such stationary or substantially stationaryaccess terminals 104 includes machine-to-machine (M2M) enabled accessterminals 104. M2M enabled access terminals 104 are adapted towirelessly communicate with one or more devices over the wirelesscommunication system 100, at least substantially without userinteraction. M2M access terminals 104 may comprise a communicationsdevice adapted to capture an event (e.g., a sensor that capturestemperature, a meter to capture inventory level, etc.), which is relayedthrough the wireless communication system 100 to an application (e.g.,software program), where the event data can be translated intomeaningful information (e.g., temperature needs to be lowered/raised,items need to be restocked, etc.). In some embodiments, the accessterminals may include a sensor coupled to a controller/actuator. Thecontroller/actuator can be configured to receive data and/orinstructions (e.g., network or control data) and implement an action(e.g., activating a sprinkler, temperature modification device, or alarmcondition).

M2M enabled access terminals 104 may be adapted to send/receive datarelatively infrequently. For example, an M2M enabled access terminal 104may be adapted to send/receive data anywhere from every few hours toonce a month, or even longer. In such cases, the timer-basedregistration periods described above may be burdensome on the M2Menabled access terminals 104. That is, because conventional timer-basedregistration periods may be relatively short (e.g., on the order ofevery 15-60 minutes, although some may be less or more frequent), accessterminals such as the M2M access terminals may consume substantialbattery power in order to register during each registration period.

According to at least one aspect of the present disclosure, the wirelesscommunications system 100 further includes a registration server adaptedto perform timer-based registrations on behalf of one or more accessterminals 104. As depicted in FIG. 2, such a registration server may beemployed as a machine-to-machine (M2M) server 220. Although the presentdisclosure refers to the registration server as an M2M server, it shouldbe understood that the M2M servers described herein are not the onlyimplementation for a registration server. Accordingly, use of the term‘M2M server” in this disclosure should be understood to refer generallyto any registration server adapted to perform timer-based registrationson behalf of one or more access terminals.

The M2M server 220 may be generally adapted to communicate with one ormore access terminals 104 and one or more network entities. The M2Mserver 220 may communicate with an access terminal 104 and/or with anetwork entity through a direct link (wired and/or wireless) and/orthrough a relayed link (wired and/or wireless) by means of acommunication network. In the example depicted in FIG. 2, the M2M server220 is communicatively coupled with the base station controller 206 andthe MSC/VLR 208. According to this example, the M2M server 220 cancommunicate with the access terminal 104 through a relayed link (e.g., awireless link between the access terminal 104 and the base station 102,a wired link between the base station 102 and the base stationcontroller 206, and a wired link between the base station controller 206and the M2M server 220). Furthermore, in the depicted example, the M2Mserver 220 can communicate with the MSC/VLR 208 through a direct link(e.g., a wired link, such as an IP network link, between the M2M server220 and the MSC/VLR 208). The M2M server 220 may be included in thesystem 100 as a network entity, which may, in at least some examples, beincorporated into the core network 204. That is, the M2M server 220 maybe implemented as a network entity in the core network 204.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of facilitatingtimer-based registrations with a registration server acting on behalf ofan access terminal. The registration server is depicted as the M2Mserver 220 for illustration purposes. Initially, an access terminal 104may communicate 302 with the M2M server 220 for enabling the M2M server220 to perform timer-based registrations on behalf of the accessterminal 104. In some instances, the communication 302 may include arequest sent from the access terminal 104 to the M2M server 220, askingthe M2M server 220 to perform registration on behalf of the accessterminal 104. In other instances, the M2M server 220 may send a requestto the access terminal 104 to perform the timer-based registrations onbehalf of the access terminal 104.

In order to conduct timer-based registrations on behalf of the accessterminal 104, the M2M server 220 may employ information about the accessterminal 104 relevant to such registrations. Accordingly, the M2M server220 may obtain such relevant information about the access terminal 104,such as the access terminal ID (e.g., IMSI, TMSI), whether the accessterminal 104 is stationary, the frequency of expected data exchangeswith the access terminal 104, etc. In some instances, the M2M server 220may also have a keep-alive mechanism with the access terminal 104. Inexamples where the access terminal 104 sends the request for performingtimer-based registrations to the M2M server, the request may includeregistration information associated with the access terminal 104 toenable the M2M server 220 to conduct registration on behalf of theaccess terminal 104. In examples where the M2M server 220 sends arequest to the access terminal to perform the timer-based registrationson behalf of the access terminal 104, the request may include a requestfor the relevant registration information associated with the accessterminal 104. If the access terminal 104 accepts the request from theM2M server 220, the access terminal 104 can send the registrationinformation associated with the access terminal 104 to enable the M2Mserver 220 to perform registrations on behalf of the access terminal104.

In still other examples, the M2M server 220 may obtain some or all ofthe relevant registration information from the network. That is,according to at least one feature of the present disclosure, the M2Mserver 220 may obtain at least some of the relevant registrationinformation, such as the access terminal ID, from the network. Forinstance, the M2M server 220 may obtain at least some of the relevantregistration information from the MSC/VLR 208 so that little or none ofthe relevant registration information is transmitted between the accessterminal 104 and the M2M server 220. Because the M2M server 220 can beimplemented as a network entity that may be controlled by the networkoperator, the M2M server 220 may already have the relevant registrationinformation or may have access to the relevant registration information,without the need to transfer such information over a communication link.This can provide improved security by reducing the risks involved inproviding such information over a communication link where sensitiveinformation such as the access terminal ID may be subject to greaterrisk of theft by an unapproved entity.

The M2M server 220 may keep a list of access terminals for which it isperforming timer-based registrations. Accordingly, the M2M server 220may add the access terminal 104 to its registration list at 304. Afterthe access terminal 104 and the M2M server 220 have agreed to allow theM2M server 220 to perform registrations on behalf of the access terminal104, the access terminal 104 may power down 306 (e.g., idle, sleep) andmay ignore future timer-based registration periods for refreshing itsregistration with the network entity (e.g., the MSC/VLR 208).

The M2M server 220 subsequently communicates with the MSC/VLR 208 toperform periodic timer-based registrations 308 on behalf of the accessterminal 104. Typically, the MSC/VLR 208 of a network manages theregistration of access terminals 104. Accordingly, the M2M server 220may communicate directly with the MSC/VLR 208 to perform the timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal 104. In response to thetimer-based registrations conducted by the M2M server 220, the MSC/VLR208 can register 310 the access terminal 104.

The various features for timer-based registrations described herein maybe implemented by one or more devices, which one or more devices may begenerally implemented with one or more processing systems. FIG. 4 is ablock diagram illustrating select components of a processing system 400according to at least one example. The processing system 400 maygenerally include a processing circuit 402 coupled to a communicationsinterface 404 and to a storage medium 406. In at least some examples,the processing circuit 402 may be coupled to the communicationsinterface 404 and the storage medium 406 with a bus architecture,represented generally by the bus 408. The bus 408 may also link variousother circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators,and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, andtherefore, will not be described any further.

The processing circuit 402 is arranged to obtain, process and/or senddata, control data access and storage, issue commands, and control otherdesired operations. The processing circuit 402 may include circuitryconfigured to implement desired programming provided by appropriatemedia in at least one embodiment. For example, the processing circuit402 may be implemented as one or more processors, one or morecontrollers, and/or other structure configured to execute executableprogramming Examples of the processing circuit 402 may include a generalpurpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA) or other programmable logic component, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A generalpurpose processor may include a microprocessor, as well as anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine.The processing circuit 402 may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing components, such as a combination of a DSP and amicroprocessor, a number of microprocessors, one or more microprocessorsin conjunction with a DSP core, an ASIC and a microprocessor, or anyother number of varying configurations. These examples of the processingcircuit 402 are for illustration and other suitable configurationswithin the scope of the present disclosure are also contemplated.

The processing circuit 402 is adapted for processing, including theexecution of programming, which may be stored on the storage medium 406.As used herein, the term “programming” shall be construed broadly toinclude without limitation instructions, instruction sets, code, codesegments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules,applications, software applications, software packages, routines,subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures,functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware,microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

The communications interface 404 is configured to facilitate wiredand/or wireless communications of the processing system 400. Forexample, the communications interface 404 may include circuitry and/orprogramming adapted to facilitate the communication of informationbi-directionally with respect to one or more other processing systems.In instances where the communications interface 404 is configured tofacilitate wireless communications, the communications interface 404 maybe coupled to one or more antennas (not shown), and may includeswireless transceiver circuitry, including at least one receiver circuit410 (e.g., one or more receiver chains) and/or at least one transmittercircuit 412 (e.g., one or more transmitter chains). The communicationsinterface 404 may also include as a network interface card (NIC), aserial or parallel connection, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, aFirewire interface, a Thunderbolt interface, or any other suitablearrangement for communicating with respect to public and/or privatewired networks, as well as some combination thereof.

The storage medium 406 may represent one or more devices for storingprogramming and/or data, such as processor executable code orinstructions (e.g., software, firmware), electronic data, databases, orother digital information. The storage medium 406 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processing circuit 402 whenexecuting programming The storage medium 406 may be any available mediathat can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose processor.By way of example and not limitation, the storage medium 406 may includea non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a magnetic storagedevice (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an opticalstorage medium (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD)),a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive),random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM(PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), aregister, a removable disk, and/or other non-transitorycomputer-readable mediums for storing information, as well as anycombination thereof.

The storage medium 406 may be coupled to the processing circuit 402 suchthat the processing circuit 402 can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium 406. That is, the storage medium 406can be coupled to the processing circuit 402 so that the storage medium406 is at least accessible by the processing circuit 402, includingexamples where the storage medium 406 is integral to the processingcircuit 402 and/or examples where the storage medium 406 is separatefrom the processing circuit 402 (e.g., resident in the processing system400, external to the processing system 400, distributed across multipleentities).

Programming stored by the storage medium 406, when executed by theprocessing circuit 402, causes the processing circuit 402 to perform oneor more of the various functions and/or process steps described herein.Accordingly, any reference throughout the present disclosure toprogramming in relation to one or more features of the processingcircuit 402 can include programming or operations stored by the storagemedium 406. Thus, according to one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure, the processing circuit 402 may be adapted to perform any orall of the processes, functions, steps and/or routines for any or all ofthe various devices (e.g., access terminal 104, M2M server 220, MSC/VLR208, etc.) described herein. As used herein, the term “adapted” inrelation to the processing circuit 402 may refer to the processingcircuit 402 being one or more of configured, employed, implemented, orprogrammed to perform a particular process, function, step and/orroutine according to various features described herein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating select components of a processingsystem implemented as an access terminal 500 according to at least oneexample. The access terminal 500 includes the processing circuit 402coupled to the communications interface 404 and to the storage medium406. In this example, the processing circuit 402 is adapted to performany or all of the processes, functions, steps and/or routines related toone or more of the access terminals 104 described herein. Accordingly,the storage medium 406 may include timer-based registration byregistration server operations 502 for enabling a registration server(e.g., M2M server 220) to perform registrations on behalf of the accessterminal 500. The timer-based registration by registration serveroperations 502 may include programming executable by the processingcircuit 402 for communicating with a registration server, for stoppingthe access terminal 500 from registering as long as the registrationserver is performing such registrations, and for powering down theaccess terminal until event data is available for transmission orreception.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on an accessterminal, such as access terminal 500, according to at least oneexample. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the access terminal 500 maycommunicate with a registration server to enable the registration serverto perform timer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal500 using an identity (ID) associated with the access terminal 500 atstep 602. For example, the processing circuit 402 executing thetimer-based registration by registration server operations 502 maycommunicate with a registration server, such as the M2M server 220 viathe communications interface 404.

In at least one example, the processing circuit 402 may send atransmission to the registration server via the communications interface404. The sent transmission may include a request to perform timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal 500. In at least someinstances, the processing circuit 402 may also send the access terminalID, which ID may be stored on the storage medium 406. However, in one ormore other examples, the processing circuit 402 may communicate with theregistration server without sending registration information such as theaccess terminal ID (e.g., IMSI, TMSI).

In one or more other examples, the processing circuit 402 may receive atransmission from the registration server via the communicationsinterface 404. Such a received transmission may include a request forthe access terminal 500 to allow the registration server to performtimer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal 500. Inresponse to such a request, the processing circuit 402 may generate andsend a transmission via the communications interface 404 to theregistration server to approve the request. In at least some instances,the processing circuit 402 may send the access terminal ID in theresponsive transmission. However, in one or more other examples, theprocessing circuit may conduct these communications without sending theregistration information such as the access terminal ID.

At step 604, the access terminal 500 may cease from conducting thetimer-based registration with the network while the registration serveris performing the timer-based registrations on behalf of the accessterminal 500. For example, the processing circuit 402 executing thetimer-based registration by registration server operations 502 may stopconducting timer-based registrations with the network so long as theregistration server continues to perform such timer-based registrationson its behalf. In some instances, the processing circuit 402 maycommunicate with the registration server at periodic intervals to ensurethat the registration server continues to perform the timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal 500.

At step 606, the access terminal 500 may power down to preserve batterypower until event data is available for transmission and/or reception.That is, until data other than timer-based registration data is ready tobe sent from the access terminal 500 or received by the access terminal500. For example, the processing circuit 402 may power down all or aportion of the access terminal 500 (e.g., a portion of thecommunications interface 404) until event data is available fortransmission and/or reception. In at least some examples, the processingcircuit 402 may enter a conventional idle or sleep mode to conservepower, while abstaining from performing timer-based registrations.

Turning to FIG. 7, a block diagram is shown illustrating selectcomponents of a processing system implemented as a registration server700, such as an M2M server, according to at least one example. Theregistration server 700 includes the processing circuit 402 coupled tothe communications interface 404 and to the storage medium 406. In thisexample, the processing circuit 402 is adapted to perform any or all ofthe processes, functions, steps and/or routines related to one or moreof the registration server (e.g., M2M server 220) described herein.Accordingly, the storage medium 406 may include access terminaltimer-based registration operations 702 for performing registration onbehalf of one or more access terminals, such as the access terminal 500.Such operations may cause the processing circuit 402 to communicate withan access terminal to enable the registration server 700 to performregistration on behalf of the access terminal, to obtain an identity(ID) associated with the access terminal, and to periodicallycommunicate with a network entity to complete timer-based registrationson behalf of the access terminal.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on aregistration server, such as the registration server 700. Referring toFIGS. 7 and 8, the registration server 700 may communicate with anaccess terminal to enable the registration server 700 to performtimer-based registration on behalf of the access terminal at step 802.For example, the processing circuit 402 executing the access terminaltimer-based registration operations 702 may communicate via thecommunications interface 404 with an access terminal. In at least oneexample, such communications may include the processing circuit 402receiving via the communications interface 404 a transmission from theaccess terminal requesting that the registration server 700 performtimer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal. In responseto receiving such a transmission, the processing circuit 402 may add theaccess terminal to a timer-based registration list, indicating theaccess terminal as a device for which the registration server 700 willperform timer-based registrations during each timer-based registrationperiod identified by the network.

In one or more other examples, the communications of step 802 mayinclude the processing circuit 402 sending via the communicationsinterface 404 a transmission to the access terminal requesting theaccess terminal to allow the registration server to perform timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal. In response to sendingsuch a transmission, the processing circuit 402 may receive via thecommunications interface 404 a response from the access terminalgranting such a request. Upon receipt of the response, the processingcircuit 402 may add the access terminal to a timer-based registrationlist, indicating the access terminal as a device for which theregistration server 700 will perform timer-based registrations duringeach timer-based registration period identified by the network.

At step 804, the registration server 700 can obtain an identity (ID)associated with the access terminal For example, the processing circuit402 executing the access terminal timer-based registration operations702 may obtain the access terminal ID (e.g., IMSI, TMSI). In someinstances, the processing circuit 402 may obtain the ID from the accessterminal itself as part of, for example, the communication at step 802.In other instances, the processing circuit 402 may obtain the accessterminal ID from the network, such as from a network entity like theMSC/VLR, so that the access terminal ID is not communicated over acommunication link between the registration server 700 and the accessterminal. Additionally, the processing circuit 402 executing the accessterminal timer-based registration operations 702 may obtain otherinformation, such as whether the access terminal is stationary, thefrequency of expected data exchanges with the access terminal, etc. Suchinformation may be obtained in addition to or separate from the accessterminal ID. The obtained access terminal ID may be stored by theprocessing circuit 402 in the storage medium 406.

At step 806, the registration server 700 may periodically communicatewith a network entity to conduct timer-based registrations for theaccess terminal using the ID associated with the access terminal. Forexample, the processing circuit 402 executing the access terminaltimer-based registration operations 702 can communicate with a networkentity (e.g., an MSC/VLR) via the communications interface 404 toconduct timer-based registrations for the access terminal. In thismanner, the timer-based registrations can be conducted without activeparticipation by the access terminal in each registration. Suchcommunications may include the processing circuit 402 transmitting atimer-based registration message via the communications interface 404 tothe network entity on behalf of the access terminal.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating select components of a processingsystem implemented as a network entity 900, such as a MSC/VLR, accordingto at least one example. The network entity 900 includes the processingcircuit 402 coupled to the communications interface 404 and to thestorage medium 406. In this example, the processing circuit 402 isadapted to perform any or all of the processes, functions, steps and/orroutines related to one or more of the network entities (e.g., MSC/VLR208) described herein other than a registration server. In other words,the network entity 900 may represent a network entity different from theregistration servers described herein. Accordingly, the storage medium406 may include timer-based registration operations 902 for registeringan access terminal based on registration information received from aregistration server, such as an M2M server, instead of from the accessterminal. Such operations may cause the processing circuit 402 toreceive timer-based registration information from a registration server,which timer-based registration information is adapted for registering anaccess terminal. The timer-based registration operations 902 may furthercause the processing circuit 402 to register the access terminal basedon the registration information received from the registration server.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating at least one example of a methodoperational on a network entity, such as the network entity 900.Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, a network entity 900 may receive, at step1002, a timer-based registration message from a registration server,where the timer-based registration message is adapted for registering anaccess terminal. For example, the processing circuit 402 executing thetimer-based registration operations 902 may receive via thecommunications interface 404 a timer-based registration message sent bya registration server. In at least some examples, the registrationserver may be a network entity itself, and the timer-based registrationmessage would therefore be received from another network entity. Thetimer-based registration message may include an identity (ID) associatedwith the access terminal (e.g., IMSI, TMSI). In some instances, this IDmay have been previously provided to the registration server from thenetwork entity 900.

At step 1004, the network entity 900 registers the access terminal basedon the timer-based registration message received from the registrationserver. For example, the processing circuit 402 executing thetimer-based registration operations 902 may register the access terminalin response to the timer-based registration message from theregistration server. Such registration may include adding or keeping theaccess terminal on a list of active access terminals with which thenetwork can communicate. For instance, such a list may identify accessterminals and their locations to which paging messages can be sent.

In accordance with one or more of the foregoing features, accessterminals that are stationary or substantially stationary can conservepower when timer-based registrations are conducted by a registrationserver on behalf of the access terminal.

One or more of the components, steps, features and/or functionsillustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and/or 10 may berearranged and/or combined into a single component, step, feature orfunction or embodied in several components, steps, or functions.Additional elements, components, steps, and/or functions may also beadded without departing from the invention. The apparatus, devicesand/or components illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and/or 9 may beconfigured to perform one or more of the methods, features, or stepsdescribed in FIGS. 3, 6, 8 and/or 10. The novel algorithms describedherein may also be efficiently implemented in software and/or embeddedin hardware.

Also, it is noted that at least some implementations have been describedas a process that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, astructure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describethe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when itsoperations are completed. A process may correspond to a method, afunction, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a processcorresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return ofthe function to the calling function or the main function.

Those of skill in the art would further appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented as hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, orany combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability,various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and stepshave been described above generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or softwaredepends upon the particular application and design constraints imposedon the overall system.

The terms “machine-readable medium”, “computer-readable medium”, and/or“processor-readable medium” may include, but are not limited to portableor fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, and various othernon-transitory mediums capable of storing, containing or carryinginstruction(s) and/or data. Thus, the various methods described hereinmay be partially or fully implemented by instructions and/or data thatmay be stored in a “machine-readable medium”, “computer-readablemedium”, and/or “processor-readable medium” and executed by one or moreprocessors, machines and/or devices.

The various features associate with the examples described herein andshown in the accompanying drawings can be implemented in differentexamples and implementations without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. Therefore, although certain specific constructionsand arrangements have been described and shown in the accompanyingdrawings, such embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictiveof the scope of the disclosure, since various other additions andmodifications to, and deletions from, the described embodiments will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the scope of thedisclosure is only determined by the literal language, and legalequivalents, of the claims which follow.

We claim:
 1. An access terminal, comprising: a communications interface;a storage medium; and a processing circuit coupled to the communicationsinterface and the storage medium, the processing circuit adapted to:communicate with a registration server via the communications interfaceto enable the registration server to perform timer-based registrationson behalf of the access terminal using an identity (ID) associated withthe access terminal; stop performing timer-based registrations while theregistration server performs the timer-based registrations on behalf ofthe access terminal; and power down until event data is available fortransmission or reception.
 2. The access terminal of claim 1, whereinthe storage medium includes the identity (ID) associated with the accessterminal.
 3. The access terminal of claim 1, wherein the processingcircuit is further adapted to send a transmission to the registrationserver requesting the registration server to perform the timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal.
 4. The access terminalof claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to receivea transmission from the registration server requesting the accessterminal to allow the registration server to perform the timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal.
 5. The access terminalof claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to sendthe identity (ID) associated with the access terminal to theregistration server via the communications interface.
 6. The accessterminal of claim 1, wherein the identity (ID) associated with theaccess terminal comprises an international mobile subscriber identity(IMSI) provisioned in the access terminal or a temporary mobilesubscriber identity (TMSI) for the access terminal.
 7. A methodoperational on an access terminal, comprising: communicating with aregistration server to enable the registration server to performtimer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal using anidentity (ID) associated with the access terminal; ceasing fromconducting timer-based registrations while the registration server isperforming the timer-based registrations on behalf of the accessterminal; and powering down until event data is available fortransmission or reception.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereincommunicating with the registration server comprises: sending atransmission to the registration server requesting the registrationserver to perform the timer-based registrations on behalf of the accessterminal.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein communicating with theregistration server comprises: receiving a transmission from theregistration server requesting the access terminal to allow theregistration server to perform the timer-based registrations on behalfof the access terminal.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein communicatingwith the registration server comprises: sending the identity (ID)associated with the access terminal to the registration server.
 11. Themethod of claim 7, wherein communicating with the registration servercomprises: communicating with the registration server without sendingthe identity (ID) associated with the access terminal to theregistration server.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein communicatingwith the registration server comprises communicating with a registrationserver implemented as a network entity.
 13. The method of claim 7,wherein communicating with the registration server to enable theregistration server to perform the timer-based registrations on behalfof the access terminal using the identity (ID) associated with theaccess terminal comprises: communicating with the registration server toenable the registration server to perform the timer-based registrationson behalf of the access terminal using an international mobilesubscriber identity (IMSI) or a temporary mobile subscriber identity(TMSI) associated with the access terminal.
 14. An access terminal,comprising: means for communicating with a registration server to enablethe registration server to perform timer-based registrations on behalfof the access terminal using an identity (ID) associated with the accessterminal; means for ceasing from conducting the timer-basedregistrations while the registration server is performing thetimer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal; and meansfor powering down until event data is available for transmission orreception.
 15. A processor-readable medium comprising programmingoperational on an access terminal for: communicating with a registrationserver to enable the registration server to perform timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal using an identity (ID)associated with the access terminal; ceasing from conducting thetimer-based registrations while the registration server is performingthe timer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminal; andpowering down until event data is available for transmission orreception.
 16. A registration server, comprising: a communicationsinterface; a storage medium; and a processing circuit coupled to thecommunications interface and the storage medium, the processing circuitadapted to: communicate with an access terminal via the communicationsinterface to enable the registration server to perform timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal; and periodicallycommunicate with a network entity to conduct the timer-basedregistrations for the access terminal using an identity (ID) associatedwith the access terminal.
 17. The registration server of claim 16,wherein the communications interface is adapted to communicate with thenetwork entity through a direct communication link.
 18. The registrationserver of claim 16, wherein the communications interface is adapted tocommunicate with the network entity through a wired communication link.19. The registration server of claim 16, wherein the processing circuitis further adapted to: obtain the ID associated with the access terminalfrom the network entity; and store the ID associated with the accessterminal in the storage medium.
 20. The registration server of claim 16,wherein the processing circuit is adapted to communicate with the accessterminal to enable the registration server to perform the timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal, without receiving fromthe access terminal the ID associated with the access terminal.
 21. Theregistration server of claim 16, implemented as another entity in anetwork including the network entity.
 22. A method operational on aregistration server, comprising: communicating with an access terminalto enable the registration server to perform timer-based registrationson behalf of the access terminal; and periodically communicating with anetwork entity to conduct the timer-based registrations for the accessterminal using an identity (ID) associated with the access terminal. 23.The method of claim 22, wherein communicating with the access terminalcomprises: receiving a transmission from the access terminal requestingthe registration server to perform the timer-based registrations onbehalf of the access terminal.
 24. The method of claim 22, whereincommunicating with the access terminal comprises: sending a transmissionto the access terminal requesting the access terminal to allow theregistration server to perform the timer-based registrations on behalfof the access terminal.
 25. The method of claim 22, whereincommunicating with the access terminal to enable the registration serverto perform the timer-based registrations on behalf of the accessterminal comprises: communicating with the access terminal withoutreceiving from the access terminal the ID associated with the accessterminal.
 26. The method of claim 22, further comprising: obtaining theID associated with the access terminal from the network entity.
 27. Themethod of claim 22, wherein periodically communicating with a networkentity to conduct the timer-based registrations for the access terminalcomprises: periodically communicating with a mobile switching center andvisitor location register (MSC/VLR) to conduct the timer-basedregistrations for the access terminal.
 28. The method of claim 22,wherein periodically communicating with a network entity to conduct thetimer-based registrations for the access terminal comprises:periodically sending a timer-based registration message to the networkentity on behalf of the access terminal.
 29. A registration server,comprising: means for communicating with an access terminal to enablethe registration server to perform timer-based registrations on behalfof the access terminal; and means for periodically communicating with anetwork entity to conduct the timer-based registrations for the accessterminal using an identity (ID) associated with the access terminal. 30.The registration server of claim 29, further comprising: means forobtaining the ID associated with the access terminal from the networkentity.
 31. A processor-readable medium comprising programmingoperational on an access terminal for: communicating with an accessterminal to enable the registration server to perform timer-basedregistrations on behalf of the access terminal; and periodicallycommunicating with a network entity to conduct the timer-basedregistrations for the access terminal using an identity (ID) associatedwith the access terminal.
 32. A network entity, comprising: acommunications interface; a storage medium; and a processing circuitcoupled to the communications interface and the storage medium, theprocessing circuit adapted to: receive a timer-based registrationmessage from a registration server, where the timer-based registrationmessage is adapted for registering an access terminal; and register theaccess terminal based on the timer-based registration message receivedfrom the registration server.
 33. The network entity of claim 32,wherein the timer-based registration message is received from aregistration server implemented as another network entity.
 34. Thenetwork entity of claim 32, wherein the processing circuit is furtheradapted to: provide an identity (ID) associated with the access terminalto the registration server.
 35. A method operational on a networkentity, comprising: receiving a timer-based registration message from aregistration server, where the timer-based registration message isadapted for registering an access terminal; and registering the accessterminal based on the timer-based registration message received from theregistration server.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein receiving thetimer-based registration message from the registration server comprises:receiving the timer-based registration message from another networkentity.
 37. The method of claim 35, further comprising: providing anidentity (ID) associated with the access terminal to the registrationserver.
 38. A network entity, comprising: means for receiving atimer-based registration message from a registration server, where thetimer-based registration message is adapted for registering an accessterminal; and means for registering the access terminal based on thetimer-based registration message received from the registration server.39. A processor-readable medium comprising programming operational on anetwork entity for: receiving a timer-based registration message from aregistration server, where the timer-based registration message isadapted for registering an access terminal; and registering the accessterminal based on the timer-based registration message received from theregistration server.
 40. An article of manufactured configured forwireless communication, comprising: a processor configured to:communicate with a registration server to enable the registration serverto perform timer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminalusing an identity (ID); the processor further configured to: stopperforming timer-based registrations while the registration serverperforms the timer-based registrations on behalf of the access terminaland power down until event data is available for transmission orreception; and at least one of a sensor or controller coupled to theprocessor configured to collect and/or analyze data.